Architect (Labyrinth)
by Cakeydaftone
Summary: Who is the architect of the labyrinth? Rachel's life is about to change forever, a goblin king has designs on her.


**Architect**

She stumbled through the wood watching her footing. It was a warm summer evening Rachel was hot of mind and body driven by annoyance by the teasing of her friends, or so she thought they were. She swung her hands in time with her stride. Just because they didn't understand puzzles and the intricacy of the world they dismissed anyone who was different. To Rachel the world was one giant puzzle to be solved and then improved upon. She loved games, especially tactical ones and usually beat anyone who would challenge her. So what she wasn't a great talking and interested in shoes and handbags, there was more to life than that. She hoped she would make it back to her house by midnight, she felt uncomfortable without the protective of others. The wood was darker than it appeared at the campsite. She pauses to look around and couldn't make out where she was. The path had become almost invisible due to the dense ferns covering the surface. The trees stretched high into the blank sky and their thick trunks blocked out the view.

A figure suddenly steps out from behind a nearby tree, causing her to stop dead in her tracks. The figure steps forward growling and bearing its teeth. Rachel had never seen a wolf before and was pretty sure that theses woods were clear of them, but here one was looking straight into her eyes. Its fur thick and a deep russet colour.

She hears a rustling and foots steps approach her from the right.

"It is a little late for a stroll, don't you think?" Asked a well spoken male voice, the man leans his back casually against a tree waiting for a response. The wolf whimpers, runs over towards him and sits by his side. He places his gray gloved hand through the thick fur. His clothes were very strange, almost medieval, his blond hair rose in gravity defying layers. His face was elfin, delicate in features, and his mismatched eyes held Rachel spell bound.

Rachel chooses to ignore him believing that he is a figment of her imagination or worse some kind of rouge predator ready to carry out the kind of crimes that give newspaper writers headlines. She is so scared her heart beats so fast she fears it will fire out of her chest.

'Don't be scared, he is quite safe.'

'How do you do that? I mean it's tame, is it yours?'

'Oh, not mine, but the animals of the forest will obey me...' He gestures with his hand towards the path and the wolf starts to sling away. '...If a little disobedient.'

Rachel looks around and still can't recall this part of the forest. 'I'm sure this part of the wood doesn't look right.'

'Well you have strayed to far from the path...' He moves away from the tree. '...things are quiet different in the dark of the wood.'

Feeling she had spoken too long with this strange man Rachel finally has her mind back on getting back home. 'Well I better be going then.' She starts a brisk walk.

In a blink of an eye he stands before her. "That wasn't very polite of you; I thought we were building a rapport."

"Don't hurt me!" Rachel shrieks shielding her face from attack.

The man stands smiling at her, a warm smile which held within in it a guarantee that such crimes hadn't entered his thoughts. "I'm not going to hurt you," He speaks calmly. "What made you think I would?" His piercing strange eyes stare at her standing out even in the dimness of the wood.

"Because..."

The man waits patiently for her reply.

"Because you're in the middle of the wood at night."

The man's smile rises. "So are you, would you do me harm?"

"No,.." She thinks. "It's not the same."

"Is it not?"

Rachel fears the man's sanity so retreats back to the faint chalk path that led from the woods. The man walks with her, matching her stride even when it increases, his brown cape brushing and pulling on the nearby ferns.

"Why in such a hurry?" He asks.

Rachel ignores him like he was merely her shadow following her side.

"I only want to talk to you."

She stops. "What are you doing here, who are you?" She asked weary.

"The same as you walking." His eyes trace over her body like he was gauging her age. "You are awfully much too young to be alone out here are you not?"

"Young," An air of vanity and self-importance enters her voice. "I'm sixteen."

"Well even so,"

Rachel begins to walk again. "If you want some teens to carve up just head half a mile in that direction," She points behind herself. "You would do me a favour."

The man follows her. "That is a mean and uncaring thing to say."

"Well you don't have to put up with them. They have tortured me all year, this time they have gone too far."

"I'm sorry to hear that, but you shouldn't be out here alone at night."

She stops walking. "Why do think ghouls hang out in these woods?"

The man's face grows serious, his brows tense on his face. "You shouldn't joke." He says in a manner of a scolding father.

"Why so serious?" She smiles with bravado. "More like low lives and crooks. You needed be worried I know this track."

"Still I would feel better if you had company." His eyes light up. "come back with me, they are having a party."

"A party?" She repeats.

"Yes my birthday, although I tell them there is no point these days, I lose track which number it is to cerebrate this year. Never the less I would be very grateful if you accompaniment me.' He said bowing.

She laughs. 'This is mad; I don't even know your name?'

'My name is Jareth. Now will you come with me or not?'

She glances at her watch and it is nine o' clock. 'Bit late for a party isn't it?'

He smiles. 'My friends are late runners.'

'Don't you want to know my name?'

'If you must.' He rolls his eyes.

'Rachel.'

'Now can we get moving?'

'I guess.'

He held his arm and crooked it to his body. 'Take my arm; I don't want you to get lost.'

Rachel grabs hold of his arm, his form under his leather jacket seems slim and sleek.

'You friends live in the woods?' She asks trying to keep up with his brisk pace.

'No, they live within my castle, but on the longest day we venture into the forest.'

'Oh.' She replied. Castle, there is no such things around here.

'A castle?' She asked. Maybe she had heard him wrong.

'Yes, the place use to be very grand, but unfortunately she has seen better days. I need someone with fresh eyes to help me relive the old days.'

'Your friends, they won't be mad about me tagging along?'

'No why should they be?' and besides it's my birthday, I can invite who I wish...' He pushes by a low hanging branch. '...I need someone to distract me.' He sighs. 'I do hate these events.'

'Everyone loves birthdays.' She says still holding onto his arm like a guiding rod.

'Not me, it's the day something bad happened to me.'

'Really?'

'Yes you could say it was life changing, but my friends like to mark the event anyway.'

'You're saying something happened when you were born?'

'You could say something happened and then I was born.'

She was left thinking, while he pushed by another low bow. He paused looking up into the air and smiled.

'Do you hear them?' He asked.

Rachel hears nothing, other than an odd bird making noises in the leaf litter. 'No, what is it?'

'We are near.' He said pulling her by the hand along the path.

Rachel didn't have time to wonder how strange this whole thing was. If she was being honest Rachel was flattered by his attention, she was young, naive, and was easily beguiled. He wasn't like the boys at school, her friends she left in the woods or the average Joe on the street. He was a fascinating dandy and being in his presence was enough to forget her crappy life.

'I'm not really dressed for a party.' She said looking down at her sweaty dirty T-shirt and cargo pants

'Your fine, besides you haven't seen my friends yet.'

'We are here.' He said. There in front of them was a tumbled down brick wall and an open clearing in the wood. Lush dark green ferns and strange pink looking, scented plants surrounded the area. In the centre of the clearing was a stone circle, within it a fire flickered and church candles were perched on large stones that were big enough to sit upon.

She stood surrounded by a collection of strange faces that studied her, some stared at her in horror, but the horror was Rachel's as apart from Jareth none of his friends present were human. Goblin looking creatures were dancing around the fire and laughing like they were high. There were a few slight cute specimens on show but the majority were loud, obnoxious and ugly.

'Come.' He said beckoning her with his gloved hand.

'This is Rachel.' Jareth announced although she wished he hadn't.

She knew a smile was customarily but Rachel couldn't help but stand ridged and opened mouthed. 'Hello.' She managed after a few seconds had pasted.

Jareth walks over to one of the large stones and sits upon it, one leg hanging over the edge. 'You are to treat Rachel with respect; she is my guest for tonight.' He smiles and looks towards her. Her cheeks flush with heat.

One of the elder goblins that was not in such high spirits and had just stared at her got up from his makeshift chair of a dead log and perches to the side of Jareth's and whispers into his ear. They kept glancing at her then after a minute Jareth smiled in her direction, laughed and slapped the old goblin on the back in a friendly gesture, or so Rachel figured. She couldn't help though that tension was in the air from the group.

'Now come, come Rachel please take a seat.' He pats the stone at the side of him. She slowly walks over to him. She dodgers a half eaten chicken leg that one of the goblin's throws over the fire onto the floor.

'Never mind them, they have no manners.'

Rachel sits beside him. 'Don't take this the wrong way, but they are goblins aren't they?'

'Yes, and I'm their king.' He picks up a bottle of blue liquid that is on the ground. 'Here try the wine.'

She ignores him concentrating on what he had just confessed. 'You're a king?' She points across the fire to a scruffy one that is downing wine, spilling it all over himself. 'Of these things?'

Jareth smiles. 'Yes.'

'Then no wonder you're a fruit cake.' He fills a pewter goblet with the wine.

'That's why I roam the woods, to get away every once in a while.' He fills his own goblet. 'Truth is I have too many people knocking on my door and disturbing me. I want a means to keep people at bay.'

'What do you mean? A wall?'

'I was thinking more of a maze. I've heard you are good at puzzles, games.'

She smiles. 'You can't know that.'

'Rachel, I'm a king...' He leans back slightly with a smug expression on his face. '...I know many things, your desires, your fears. I can give you anything you want'

He conjures up an orb in his hand and drops it into her lap. She looks at the simmering surface and a scene seems to be playing out inside. She picks up the object intrigued by it. Her eyes gaze onto the surface. She sees herself wearing a glorious gown of gold, people adoring her bowing in her presence. A feeling of warmth, happiness and belonging so over whelming seemed to emanate from the orb.

'Will you help me Rachel?'

'And what in return?'

'I can give anything your hearts desires.'

She looks over to the goblins and then back to Jareth. 'Have you a stick?

He shakes his head.

She feels the ground and finds a twig. She starts to draw in the loose earth. 'See the way I see it, the more complex the puzzle the more unlikely a person will be bothered to solve it.' She draws up, down and all over, until the surface is a criss crossed with lines and patterns.

'Of course there will be always ones that will stay the course and reach the end.' She directs his eyes towards the ground.

'What do you call such a construction?' Jareth asks shipping from the goblet.

'A labyrinth.'


End file.
